Category: Sources of inspiration

The Art of Work and Drawing Lessons

Jefferson Memorial

Jefferson Memorial, pencil on paper, size forgotten, price undetermined, drawn because I love to draw, love this piece of history and love this architectural style. Any questions? Use the contact button above and I’ll do my best to answer.

The Art of Work by Jeff Goins is at the top of my current stack of books. I discovered Jeff’s writing a few years ago when he wrote about how words actually mean things, and then he composed a list of currently misused words, such as “literally” when the right word is “figuratively”. . . “He literally shot himself in the foot.” Oh yeah? Is he able to walk anymore? (That’s really gross, and I know it because I saw it on a slide in a CCW class.)

Besides enjoying Jeff’s writing, the subject matter of this book grabbed my attention. “A proven path to discovering what you were meant to do” sounds profound to me at a time when I am questioning the wisdom of pursuing art as a career. (This has been a regular question throughout my career – it’s part of a cycle rather than a real crisis.)

In the chapter about apprenticeships there are several sentences that really rang my bell (figuratively, not literally, because I don’t actually have a bell). He quoted Ellen Frank, a master craftsman (craftswoman? craftsperson? or “man” as in “human”?) from East Hampton, New York who runs an atelier.

They [her students} also acquire validation. It’s not teaching through critique. It’s not teaching through judging their own work. It’s teaching through saying, ‘Yes, and why not try this?’ and ‘Yes, can you push this farther?’

That’s what I strive for in teaching drawing lessons! That’s it exactly!

I show people what I know, how the tools work best, how to recognize what might make a good drawing, how to start, how to push through the messy parts. I help them make their own work better by sharing techniques, encouraging them to pursue the subjects that they love (not everyone is enamored by old architecture, shocking as that may be to realize) and cheering them on when they feel stalled.

I love to teach people how to draw. It feels a little weird to think of it as “apprenticeships”, but that is sort of what is happening, one hour per week and 4 students at a time.

Tax free photos

April 15 causes me pain. In case it affects you the same way, here is something nice to look at. You don’t have to pay any taxes on it.

Spring on the Farm Photos For Inspiration

When we visited Cowboy Bert and Mrs. Cowboy Bert, the animals were all vying for my attention.

Remember this little Baby Cakes?

Look at her now:

Here: look at her where you can get a better sense of scale:

Still a bottle baby, along with the white one who is a bit younger and smaller.

There is also a short horse and a couple of tall dogs. Gets a person a bit confused about proportion and perspective. (short horse = pony?)

They wouldn’t pose for me so that I can show you the 2 over/undersized critters together.

New Hampshire Reds are beautiful chickens. This is a hen, not a rooster.

When the sheep all talk, they sound like people imitating sheep. There are bass, tenor, alto and soprano, and they make really funny sounds.

Scooter is my favorite of all 4 cats. Cats are my favorite of all the animals. The kind of farm I grew up on had trees, a dog or two, and always cats. No sheep talking like people, no short horses, and certainly no hens imitating roosters. Makes me feel like a city girl! I’ve often thought that growing up on the kind of farm I did only meant that everything was inconvenient, I got used to wide spaces without buildings, I learned to plan ahead for shopping trips (oh how I hated going to town unless it included a stop at the library), we were not dependent on neighbor kids for fun, we learned to drive young (ever driven a spray rig that has only a clutch and a brake, no accelerator?) and we ate as many oranges, olives, plums and walnuts as we wanted. Hmmm, maybe there was a pig on that farm who looked a lot like me.

P.S. I wrote this blog with my sweet kitty Perkins by my side. We weren’t allowed to have animals in the house growing up. Guess I’ve kicked over the traces of my raising in that aspect, but I still eat as many oranges as I want.

What’s A Central California Artist to Do? part 2

beach birds

Beach Birds, pencil, size forgotten, sold

If you are a Central California artist, you may occasionally have times when: taking inventory is boring; ordering packaging supplies for notecards that aren’t moving very quickly feels like a waste of money, planning for paintings when one’s current body of work is collecting dust feels futile, writing blog posts is difficult when technology fails and photos won’t load; calling on stores and galleries feels futile when they don’t keep their posted hours or end up closing altogether.

So what?

One of my drawing students and friends often the line blurs) gave me a sign that hangs in the painting studio. It reads “Put on your big girl pants and get busy”.

Getting busy looks like this:

order envelopes and clear bags for notecards
order some of the card designs that have sold out
edit newer photos and order prints
call or email the names on the waiting list for drawing lessons (One lady said “I’m waiting for you to give a watercolor class”. She’ll be waiting a very long time, because I don’t know how to watercolor paint.)
blog ahead
update the inventory, where-to-buy and events pages on the website
put more sticker decals on the covers of The Cabins of Wilsonia
package notecards
take care of the hassles and realities of tax season

AHA! Tax season. Could that be the reason for the current state of mind? Thanks, IRS. Way to wreck the most beautiful time of year.

Guess I’ll just pretend as if someone has forbidden me to work on the business of art. That should light a fire under me!

How do you remain productive during your slow seasons?

What’s a Central California Artist to Do?

reading rabbit

Sometimes I feel like quitting.

Have you ever noticed that what one must do just holds no interest?

For example, if my job was yardwork, I’d be dying to paint. My job is painting, so I’m dying to do some yardening.

What causes this?? A lingering rebellion from adolescence? A streak of stubbornness? The thing called “resistance” by Steven Pressfield in The War of Art?

When sales are slow or studio tour visitation is low or attendance in drawing lessons declines, I wonder why I push onward. The work has no sense of importance and certainly no urgency. I don’t feel the press of any deadlines, so I dink around home, avoiding the studio.

It takes discipline, thought about what is ahead, planning, optimism, leaning into past experience and sheer determination to use my “down” time wisely.

What’s a Central California artist to do??

Come back tomorrow. Maybe I’ll have an answer or two.

What do you do when you feel unmotivated?

It Rained in Three Rivers

Rain is an event around here. In the winter, we hope it is accompanied by snow in the mountains. Alas, it was a warm rain, and the river turned muddy. But what a thrill to hear the river roar again!

Kaweah River

Looking downstream, it was terrific to see the water actually reaching the measuring stick again.

Kaweah River

Looking upstream when the sun emerged, the muddiness of the water really became apparent. Every little stream and creek and ravine up to about 9000′ dumped its contents here. It felt like an event.

Then, it stayed very springlike. A friend and I had lunch at Anne Lang’s Emporium, where the food, the companionship and the entertainment were all superior.

We sat on the deck overlooking the river, and this tree with its birds were at eye level. This guy had a fabulous song, and it was a trick to catch him in the act. However, we aren’t burning film anymore, so after a zillion attempts, I caught this:

The red-wing blackbird puffs up when he sings his beautiful song.

Big variety of birds visited this feeder, but I wasn’t quick enough to catch them on camera. (on disk? We certainly don’t say “on film” anymore.) I couldn’t catch the hummingbirds without major bluration.

See? bluration. Good word, eh?

My Amazing Friends

A year or two ago, I ran a series of blog posts called “My Amazing Friends”. It was about friends who are remarkably creative and energetic. (That’s why I remarked on them.) There is Bob, Nikki and Barbara.

I have a new friend, Ron, who owns Visalia Granite and Marble Works. He wanted to be an architect, but somehow drifted or fell or perhaps even purposely dove into the monument business.

We met when a mutual friend asked for help with her parents’ headstone, as discussed in this blog post. While in his office, I looked at a glaring blank wall through his French doors and suggested a mural. (A pushy chick or an opportunist? Nah, just a Central California artist with her eye always scanning the horizon for work.) He asked for a bid, I asked for a tape measure, and we were off and running!

He asked if I could complete the mural while he was on vacation, and my response was something like, “COMPLETE IT?? I DON”T EVEN KNOW IF I CAN PAINT THIS!”

He was very encouraging and had tremendous confidence in my abilities. I didn’t want to disappoint him, so I painted with laser-like focus and got it mostly finished.

When Ron returned, he was pleased. He also had a few suggestions for improvement, and they were spot on and very welcome.

I knew I was in the presence of an amazing person just from the time spent at his business, Visalia Granite and Marble Works. His employees have all been with him for a long time, they are kind and welcoming and happy at work. His business is beautiful, and when I looked at his website to see his work, I was very very impressed.

When Ron signed one of his emails to me with his name and the initials “CM”, I asked him what that meant. Here is his explanation, which really made me realize he is an amazing friend:

You are the first and only person I have ever had do a mural for me and the first person to ever ask me what CM stands for. Thank you for asking.

CM – Certified Memorialist – It is a national recognition (MBNA – Monument Builders of North America) for Experience, Knowledge and Testing in the art of memorialization. It not only focuses on the actual art itself but also includes a lot of business acumen, marketing, accounting, leadership, grief counseling and all facets of business prowess related to our field. NOT AN EASY TEST. In the entire US there are less than 200 and in California there are less than 6 certified memorialist.

That’s amazing!

Is white a color or an absence of color?

In December and January, I was struck by the number of white things in my yard. Is white a color or the absence of color? If I am drawing, white is paper color, and I draw around the white things. In painting, I use more white than any other tube of paint.

Notice I said “tube” rather than “color”. This is because my question remains, “Is white a color or an absence of color?”

Forget it. Let’s look at pictures of white things.

White must be a color. If it wasn’t, these things would be clear, transparent, see-through.

There. Glad that got settled!

P.S. Yes, this is how December and January look in Three Rivers. Payback time is in July, August and September when other parts of the country are green and we are crunchy brown, gray, a bit of yellow, and just plain dusty.

February is Spring in Three Rivers

To my friends who live where there is winter, if Three Rivers seems SOOOO LUCKY to have spring, think about the rest of the year. Hot, smoggy, fat people, poor people, lots of diabetes, high teen pregnancy. . . okay, I exaggerate. That’s Tulare County, but Three Rivers is in Tulare County.

Not much water in Salt Creek. Colt, a miniature Aussie, liked it!

Comb Rocks in the distance, lots of green on the ground. Colt likes it here.

No water in the falls.

Lupine in bloom!

Lots of oak trees in Three Rivers. Easier to photo than to paint or draw when there are no leaves.

Does Art Have A Purpose?

This is a reprint of an article that I wrote for LinkedIn.

1441 MK Trail

Mineral King Trail, 11 x 14″, oil on wrapped canvas, $175

In the art world, one can always find a discussion about the purpose of art. Is it to decorate? To enhance? To inspire? Or, is its purpose to disrupt, to cause one to examine one’s life, or simply to disturb?

The latest news flash disrupts. The top of the hour news causes one to examine one’s life. The all-news-all-the-time reiteration of gross events in the world is disturbing.

Be honest now: is this what you want on the walls in your life? In my humble opinion, disruption, self-examination and disturbances are more the purview of news than art.

I live in a poor rural county in the center of California. Art is a strange way to earn a living here, and it is a hard haul at times. No matter how difficult it is, I am motivated, nay, DRIVEN to find and show the beauty of this place I’ve always called home. Sure, I could make art about stolen vehicles, meth, teen pregnancy, poverty, diabetes, obesity or bad air, but who wants to look at that??

Artists are told by professors, publications, websites, seminars, workshops and other artists that we must convey a message, tell a story, incite people to think.

As an artist, my response to this “must” is two-fold: first, an automatic internal reaction that I may not have anything worth saying other than “Ooh, how beautiful”, and second, perhaps that message of beauty is irrelevant.

Recently, I became aware of a transcript of a talk given by philosopher and writer Roger Scruton, called “Why Beauty Matters”. (http://www.facetofaceintercultural.com.au/a-fading-beauty/) He points out that beauty is a value, one that is as important as truth or goodness.

Scruton quotes Oscar Wilde, who said, “All art is absolutely useless”, and he opines that Wilde intended this as praise. How can uselessness be viewed as a compliment? He actually viewed beauty as having a higher value than usefulness.

What a contrary concept in this age of edgy brashness, outrageous trendiness, and ever-increasing audaciousness, all for shock value.

Once again, I admonish you to be honest: do you want to be shocked as you pass down your hallway? Disturbed while waiting for your coffee? Upset as you settle in for the evening?

Beautiful art can bring grace to your home and peace to your life. We all know that life can be hard. Have you ever considered that beauty soothes the troubled soul and takes the edge off the difficult times? It can momentarily transport us away from our daily harsh realities, and it is an immeasurably great quality that we cannot overdose on.

I’ll take soothing over shocking every day. Art serves in that capacity for me, both in its creation and in its display. Like goodness and truth, I need beauty in my life. Art helps to fulfill that need.

Mineral King oil paintings